So apparently Braylon Edwards is also on the low. In 2009, when the Giants were going to trade for him, the trade fell through bc the Giants found out about his sexuality, and the players in the lockerroom didn't want him on the team bc they all knew he was cool. They also believed that he wanted to go to a big city organization bc the city provided more outlets for him to be cool.

Which explains why him and Rhodes were best buddies when they were both with the Jets, and also explains why both of them were surprisingly let go by the Jets and had difficulty finding suitors despite their ability.

There's also a rumor that when Braylon crashed his car in Cleveland in the park, he was...busy, I guess you can say, while driving and he wasn't paying attention and crashed. His buddy distracted him...

So yeah. Braylon is apparently on the low as well. And what I find interesting is, players knew for awhile now. Since 2009 at least. Which tells me that players know about other players being cool, this is nothing new to them.

But it also brings up an interesting point, why would cool players come out? We see evidence of them being blackballed by teams/players when they do, so it does effect their employment.

So while everyone is saying all the right things publicly, I think privately this may still be an issue in the lockerroom, which explains why they wouldn't come out.

I heard that about Braylon, but it seems like the only 'confirmation' was that he and Rhodes were roomies at one time in NY until Braylon got his own place.

It's funny how certain players obviously are carrying around a league stigma for being rudy cool, yet legendary HC Vince Lombardi spoke out for cool rights in the 1960s when his own brother was rudy cool.

I've always wondered why Braylon Edwards wasn't more in demand by NFL teams this offseason since most franchises don't have a WR with his physical skillset or production.

Miami seems like an ideal fit among other teams.
Yeah, there's really no incentive for an NFL player in his prime to come out, since much of the rudy cool prejudice they face is coming from management.

If a cool player isn't a total asshole, a strong HC can keep his lockerroom under control and remind his players they are PROFESSIONAL athletes, not kids in HS.

referring to some of the previous posts.... I too am sure it's obvious and well-known within some organizations, and think the idea that "no one in the NFL is willing to come out" is literally just the media basically complaining that no one has come to them yet, as if the only way to "embrace oneself" (or whatever) is to hold a press conference about it. There've always been *** guys on football teams, and for the most part they're embraced or rejected on the same basis as their teammates - their ability on the field. If Braylon and Kerry are being "blackballed," so to speak, I'm sure it has less to do with how the locker room would react than how the media and public would react. The media is begging for this story. The shitstorm would never end. You think Tebowmania is bad? As far as his ability is concerned, Tebow should be on a team right now, perhaps learning a new position, but nobody wants the headlines.

I think this is the same thing. It's not about locker room issues, it's about unwanted, non-football related attention which will inevitably descend on whichever organization brings in a publicly... cool... player. The media is so eager to use the NFL as a stage for social debates that I've gotta believe teams are unwilling to bring in a player they think might be a magnet to reporters for the wrong reasons, and so simply pass. While all along, of course, the media is howling about how Tebow can't find a job because of his beliefs. *** players have all the reason in the world to want to stay on the DL right now. The media machine is ravenously hungry for them, and doesn't give a **** about their careers aside from how it looks in print.

theres plenty of older players out there that no one is willing to deal with anymore. if your personality has the potential to cause any problems, its not worth it anymore. theres a bunch of vets out there that cant find work

I know no one has posted on this thread in a while but I came across this article on Deadspin that has pretty much the same exact title as this thread. Haven't read it yet but I thought'd I'd post it since it's got the same title as this thread.

His salary would be 800k and some change. If I'm a GM, and my starting safeties are giving up 7 TDs, I'm spending 800K to improve the position.

Like the article said, Riley Cooper said the N word and is still employed, and Riley Cooper sucks. Yet Kerry Rhodes can grade out as a top tier safety in the league but can't even find a single team to pay him 800K in a league that's loaded with terrible safeties bc he enjoys buttsekz?

That's complete BS. If Rhodes wasn't ***, and he could be had for 800K, teams would be lining up to sign him.